No food for breakfast

“I hate to bother you, Mr. Muller,” began the matron, “but... the children are all ready for breakfast and there is not a thing in the house to eat. What shall I tell them?”

George stood up. “I’ll take care of it."... [He] reached down and took [a little girl’s hand] hand. “Come and see what God will do,” he said. Inside they found three hundred children standing in neat rows behind their chairs. Set on the table in front of each child were a plate, a mug... and spoon. But there was no food whatsoever to be seen....

“...where’s the food?” Abigail asked in a whisper.

“God will supply,” George told her quietly, before he turned to address the children. “There’s not much time. I don’t want any of you to be late for school, so let us pray,” he announced.

As the children bowed their heads, George simply prayed, “Dear God, we thank you for what you are going to give us to eat. Amen.”

George looked up and smiled at the children. “You may be seated,” he said. He had no idea at all where the food he had just prayed for would come from or how it would get to the orphanage. He just knew God would not fail the children. A thunderous din filled the room as three hundred chairs were scuffed across the wooden floor. Soon all three hundred children sat obediently in front of their empty plates.

No sooner had the noise in the dining room subsided than there was a knock at the door. George walked over and opened the door. In the doorway stood the baker, holding a huge tray of delicious-smelling bread.

“Mr. Muller,” began the baker, “I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking that somehow you would need bread this morning and that I was supposed to get up and bake it for you. So I got up at two o’clock and made three batches for you. I hope you can use it.”

George smiled broadly. “God has blessed us through you this morning,” he said as he took the tray....

“There’s two more trays out in the cart,” said the baker. “I’ll fetch them.” Within minutes, the children were all eating freshly baked bread.

As they were enjoying it there was a second knock at the door. This time it was the milkman, who took off his hat and addressed George. "I’m needing a little help, of you could, sir. The wheel on my cart has been broken, right outside your establishment. I’ll have to lighten my load before I can fix it. There’s ten full cans of milk on it. Could you use them?" Then looking at the orphans sitting in neat rows, he added. "Free of charge, of course...."

A. Jesus our Prayer Example

Prayers that Get Answered

Is there anyone whose prayers have always been answered?

John 11: Raising of Lazarus

[Martha:] “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

Why?

Because he’s God?

But how can he be an example to us then?

Happened to meet President Obama’s daughter:

My dad’s very accessible you know, all you have to do is to text him and he’ll reply immediately.

But Jesus was our example, showing us how to live, and prayer was no exception.

The book of Hebrews presents one of the highest perspectived of Jesus in the New Testament

Yet it contains these curious verses:

Hebrews 5:7,8

During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.

Jesus took on our humanity, including some aspects of learning

“I learned to drive a car this week”, “Oh, what kind of car were you driving?”, “Oh, no, I was learning from a book”

So God only heard his son because of his obedience?

The Queen of England is head of the military. Her grandsons have all spent time in military training.

What if they called her up “grandma, I don’t like the food. Can you ask them to get me some hamburgers?”

“If you can call me up at any time and get special conditions, it defeats any point in you being there.”

Jesus’ perfect obedience

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

John 10:17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

B. Obedience and Answers to Prayer

In many places our obedience is linked to our prayers being answered:

1 John 5:14–15

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

The man born blind John 9:31–32

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.

Now we come to the main passage for today:

John 15:5–17

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

based on NET Bible

See how strong the connection is between obedience and our prayers being heard?

I want to throw it open for questions now:

Is it all about our performance: the ones that perform best, get heard